Book Description
Married to Benito Mussolini's favorite daughter Edda, Galeazzo Ciano was a brilliant, ambitious and ruthless young Italian. Throughout his period in office Ciano kept a diary so detailed and revealing that both Mussolini and Hitler sought to impound and destroy it. The diary was smuggled out of Italy by Edda, who sought unsuccessfully to trade it for Ciano's life. The diary was later acquired by the American spy, Allen W. Dulles (later head of the CIA) and published in full in the Chicago Daily News. It remains one of the classic insider accounts of the workings of the Fascist and Nazi governments. Ciano's glamorous, violent, and promiscuous life was acted out at the highest levels of European politics and society. There has never been a biography of him in English: this is one gripping read.
Customer Reviews:
Great book on a sorry personality.......2007-05-29
I had some respect for Ciano before I read this, thinking he was the conscience of the Italian people. In getting to know Ciano by reading this book I realized that he was a mirrow image of IL Duce, including the womanizing part. His wife, Duce's daughter, was just as vain and an equally sorry figure. The author does a splendid job of researching old documents, talking to some of the older survivors and friends for first hand info.
WOW. this is one of the most fascinating stories of World War 2.......2007-02-06
This is truly one of the most disturbing stories in World War 2. Ciano would become the epitome of everything hated in Italy. He would claim responsibility for the invasion of Albania and Greece and blamed for some of the worst defeats in Italy's history. Much of this is undeserved as Mussolini was calling many of the shots and the fall out between the two became apparent. Had Ciano been stronger and not captured under the personality cult of Mussolini the break would have been bigger and he would have opposed the war shattering the Duce ideas of a strong Italian army. The diaries that Ciano wrote would be key aspects of Nuremberg and both the allies and axis sought to acquire them. The story of the acquisition is heart wrenching and Edda Ciano's bravery is truly remarkable. What she went through from the execution of her husband to the estrangement of her father Mussolini was simply amazing. This is a must read for those who want to understand how World War 2 unfolded and the war that Italy played. It is a well written biography and truly a great addition to the historiography.
Good background for Ciano's diary.......2003-12-06
Moseley has written a readable and well researched book on the life of the enigmatic Count Ciano. It is certainly the first comprehensive study of Ciano to appear in English. Ciano is worthy of the attention of anyone interested in Twentieth Century Europe, diplomacy, or World War II. Moseley does a good job of revealing Ciano's evolution from a blind follower of Mussolini to active and effective foil. There can be little doubt that in anything less than an unrestricted dictatorship, Ciano's efforts to keep Italy out of WWII would have succeeded. In the end Ciano's undisguished contempt of the Nazi Heirarchy cost him his life. I recommend this book as a precursor to reading Ciano's diary.
Couldn't put it down.......2003-11-24
This is a superb read and Mr Mosely coveres an intensely complex period with majesty and skill. Here and there it is a bit difficult who the subject is of a sentence, as the relative pronoun sometimes doesn't come after the immediately preceding subject of a sentence, but that happens rarely. Mr Moseley's reads like a thriller, but at the same time is a thoroughly researched, critical reading of a tragic, through fascinating period of history. I cannot recommend this book more highly for anyone interested obviously in history, but also for those interested in human behviour and our ability to deceive and contradict ourselves. Do read!
Very good, could have been better.......2000-08-04
This is a good book and Mr. Moseley is to be congratulated on a decent job. He has done his research and provided a vivid account of Ciano and the people around him. I do not give this book five stars, however, because it needs editing. It seems in some places Mr. Moseley loses his strong narrative as he relates diary entry after diary entry - seemingly with little connection. Also, the book could have used a glossary containing the names of the principal players in the Italian fascist government. These faults lie not with Mr. Moseley as much as with his editor/publisher. Nevertheless, I rcommend this book as one that provides a fascinating slice of WWII history.
Customer Reviews:
Fairly thorough account of Il Duce's life.......2007-10-15
This book is a combination of several primary sources related directly to Benito Mussolini. The first "My Rise" was Mussolini's account of how he came to power in Italy. It has its uses but the reader should be ware that it does omit several parts of his rise to power and it is worth keeping a good Mussolini biography close at hand to compare the account with. "My Fall" is a compilation of about a dozen articles penned by Mussolini about the time that occurred from the Grand Council meeting to the establishment of the Salo Republic. Overall these provide an interesting look into Mussolini's mind and a chance to understand what he considered important in his life. The accounts are well written and Mussolini does an excellent job of recounting the parts he feels are relevant. It is with an eye towards revisionist history but despite that the documents can still be useful. All of the preface and introductions are done by top notch historians and do an excellent job of putting things in perspective.
A Priceless Historical Account By Il Duce Himself.......2005-05-02
This book is actually a compilation of Benito Mussolini's memoirs set approximately 16 years apart: the first being dated c. 1928 only eight years after his Fascisti 'Black Shirts' had assumed power in Rome by plebescite; the second being dated c. 1944 when the Fascist party in Italy was able to retain power only with Germany's occupation and Mussolini's 'rescue' by German forces.
When it comes to Mussolini, most modern readers immediately compare him to Adolf Hitler even though they understand little of what brought fascism to Italy or why Mussolini was so well received at home and abroad. Contrary to what many believe, Mussolini never had a very high opinion of Adolf Hitler and tried desperately to form a political pact with France/England with regards to Italy's future: Mussolini remained opposed to Hitler because Germany was unified with Italy's arch-enemy, Austria: Mussolini formed the ill-fated axis alliance only at the last minute when he was unable to get the concessions he wanted and Germany formally declared war against France in 1940. It would be his demise as Mussolini and his party would lose power in Italy by 1943 and, instead of the great empire they had promised to the Italian populace, Italy had become a vassal state occupied by the German military: Mussolini himself being nothing more than Hitler's puppet and mouthpiece. Thus, through his memoirs, we can follow how he was a favorite defender of freedom against Boshevism in the 20s and 30s adored by the US and England, to becoming nothing more than Hitler's lapdog by 1943.
This is a very important book where, by his own words, one can measure the man for who he was. Unlike Hitler's rambling anti-semitic diatribe in 'Mein Kampf', Mussolini's papers address purely political and social questions adding with his rather pompous flair that he and his Fascisti are an indispensable to the formation and prosperity of the state. He explains why he was motivated to act and describes the political environment he found himself in fighting the socialist, communist, and capitalist interests in Italy. His memoirs are not only interesting from a historical perspective, but also from a political one in that they provide a lot of insight as to the events that were responsible for the development of fascist doctrines in Europe in that period of time.
If you want to know this man, look no further!!!!!!!!!.......2004-05-15
I will be brief,a man as large as life as Mussolini was , no one but he could write with his vast knowledge of the political turmoil that was slowly tearing Italy apart in the early 1920's.Too bad he came to Italy in the 20th century instead of the 21st!Getting involved with Hitler and his war gives Western writers an opportunity to demean this man.If you take the time to read this you will find the man to be both highly educated and relentless in his faith for the Italian people to move progressively into the 20th century.Buy this book!!!!
Simply the Best.......2003-02-20
one of the best book I have read.
You do not have to agree or disagree with Mr. Mussolini to enjoy this book. Because you can learn a lot about the will power, the determination, and the courage of the man.
Intriguing history, but little theory........2001-12-12
I bought this book on the belief that it would explain to me the very essence of Italian Fascism. Although some important themes and ideas of Mussolini's fascism were discussed, I was disappointed with the lack of detail and expansion. However, I was enthralled by Mussolini's elegant writing style.I found the Duce's view of his own history - however biased - very informing. It gives an intimate view of early 20th century Italy,and in particular, the mood of the Italian people(especially the war veterans). The book's two parts, the first written well before the Second World War and the second during the war, offer a stark comparison of the different outlooks on the world that Mussolini possessed - he was once popular and arrogant, then hated and bitter. The book offers an extraordinary opportunity to take a deep and intimate look inside Mussolini's soul, as well as a thorough - however biased - examination of Fascist Italy. A must for anyone interested in the Duce, Fascism's general themes or World War II in general.
Book Description
In 1945, disguised in German greatcoat and helmet, Mussolini attempted to escape from the advancing Allied armies. Unfortunately for him, the convoy of which he was part was stopped by partisans and his features, made so familiar by Fascist propaganda, gave him away. Within 24 hours he was executed by his captors, joining those he sent early to their graves as an outcome of his tyranny, at least one million people. He was one of the tyrant-killers who so scarred interwar Europe, but we cannot properly understand him or his regime by any simple equation with Hitler or Stalin. Like them, his life began modestly in the provinces; unlike them, he maintained a traditonal male family life, including both wife and mistresses, and sought in his way to be an intellectual. He was cruel (though not the cruellist); his racism existed, but never without the consistency and vigor that would have made him a good recruit for the SS. He sought an empire; but, in the most part, his was of the old-fashioned, costly, nineteenth century variety, not a racial or ideological imperium. And, self-evidently Italian society was not German or Russian: the particular patterns of that society shaped his dictatorship. Bosworth's Mussolini allows us to come closer than ever before to an appreciation of the life and actions of the man and of the political world and society within which he operated. With extraordinary skill and vividness, drawing on a huge range of sources, this biography paints a picture of brutality and failure, yet one tempered with an understanding of Mussolini as a human being, not so different from many of his contemporaries.
Customer Reviews:
Interesting theory but still hard to vindicate Mussolini.......2007-09-01
RJ Bosworth makes an interesting attempt at writing a positive biography of Mussolini. This book does a decent job of summarizing parts of the Duce's life but does jump around quite a bit. Many of the things that make this book useful are in relation to how it reacts to other biographies and accounts of Mussolini. Bosworth glazes over many of the foreign policy decisions which are where so many other biographies are highly critical of Mussolini. It is noteworthy to try and write a biography that puts Mussolini in a different light and when combined with Dennis Mack Smith's biography of Mussolini (which is pretty negative) the reader can get a great sense of Mussolini himself. Bosworth is one of the premiere Italian historians and his work is always insightful and well done. The only compliant I have with this book is the jumping around and skipping over areas. The Brenner Pass meeting is not covered in this book and that is one of the pivotal moments in Mussolini's life and Italian history. I still would recommend this book through as long as it is being read with other sources to get a more complete picture.
the duce was almost always wrong.......2006-09-07
Richard Bosworth is an academic specialized in modern Italian history, who improbably teaches at the University of Western Australia. After reading his spin-off of this book, I decided to read this book.
Bosworth doesn't disappoint with this exceptionally well-written biography of one of the more unpleasant individuals to rule Italy. Anyone who was expelled from school for knifing a fellow student, who accepted foreign money for influencing his country's politics towards bringing it into a disastrous war, who didn't shy from using violence and murder to advance his political ends, who openly and flagrantly dishonored his marital vows, who used racial and religious animosities for political ends, and under whose command poison gas was used against Ethiopians cannot be a statesman, and ought have no place in politics. In this book the strong impression arises that Bosworth went out of his way to be fair to the "duce" but that there just was little that was flattering to be said for him. However, when Bosworth describes Preston's biography of Franco as "authoritative," and compares him to the other unelected European leaders of his time, I am not persuaded that Bosworth was as meticulously fair-minded.
Bosworth describes himself as a proud product of 1789, and writes that he is quite open to hearing criticisms that his politics color his historiography. I do believe this to be the case: Bosworth is quite willing to describe the pathology of the duce, but doesn't ponder why Italians were willing to tolerate such a loathsome individual as their leader. A possible explanation, whose omission is easily explained by Bosworth's unabashed identification with the fateful year of 1789, is that Italy was not so much a single country, as several countries which had uneasily been united during the Risorgimento. Milan and Turin were completely different from Sicily and Calabria, and the former Papal States between them were yet different again. Perhaps the Italians of his day were initially willing to let a demagogue and thug bind together "the Italies," to use Bosworth's words, because their country was far too heterogeneous to withstand the centrifugal forces democracy can unleash. I believe an approach more along the ideas of Edmund Burke would have far preferable to trying to force 1789 onto a rather fractured country. Better eight solid and slows steps forward than twelve rapid steps forwards and sixteen tortured steps backwards.
Bosworth writes that any historian of Italy must take pains to ensure that he doesn't absorb preconceived notions about Italy, and it is clear that Bosworth does his utmost to avoid this trap. I suspect that it is precisely in this endeavor, that Bosworth comes to the conclusion that if Italy had only been more like other liberal European countries, none of this would have happened. In my opinion, Italy was Italy, because it was different, and it would have been preferable not to try to overcome, but rather to make use of, Italy's differences.
I would strongly recommend this impressively-written and quite sobering look at Mussolini to anyone who can distinguish between Bosworth's laudable historiography and his less authoritative political views.
a leader who did much harm.......2005-12-12
Unlike most biographies, Bosworth's book actually starts from late in Mussolin's life, specifically his last 2 years alive 1944-45 and later resumes with Mussolini's birth and childhood and moves on to his adulthood as a teacher and writer and traces his political beginnings which were actually as a socialist. Later on it describes how Mussolini turned to fascism, gained power, and the prewar years and World War II. I was a little surprised at how much damage Mussolini did to Libya and Ethiopia as well as the magnitude of the killings of the local populations in those areas carried out by the Italians. The book includes a section of photographs as well as maps, footnotes, and bibliography. The last chapter even gives an account of the travels of Mussolini's corpse after he was executed and put on diplay in Milan. As much as this was a biography of Mussolini, it also seemed to be an analysis of fascism as a whole and how much harm that ideology and Mussolini were for Italy and the Italian people, as well as the above mentioned areas of Africa, and Europe. All in all, it was an interesting read, however, one can only pity the Italian people for having to put up with such poor, damaging, and detrimental leadership for such a long time, during an especially critical part of their history. I believe the fact that Mussolini is mentioned in the same breath with such a harmful leader as Hitler is indeed fitting and appropriate.
Tedious work on a pathetic villian called Mussolini.......2004-10-21
This book should have been better edited (to 200 pages), with its numerous typographical errors, and it comes across as more an attempt by the author to show off his knowledge of "Liberal" (pre fascist) Italy (it boggles the novice's mind as to what political beliefs marked one as a Futurist, syndicalist, Giolottian etc) than his insights into Mussolini as a bombastic philanderer, gangster politician, habitual liar, hollow pedant, lifelong coward ( he was discharged from the Army, as a conscript, not war vlounteer, after being wounded in the arse by an accidental grenade explosion in the barracks) and depraved knave.
Packed full of petty details and tedious to the extreme, whilst blissfully ignorant of the wider picture, we are bombarded with rubbish that Mussolini is cultivated in arts, music, philosophy, well versed in journalism, pedagogy,self taught and fluent in English, French and German (instead of being the typical village fool that he is) and that he has been vastly under estimated by contemporaries and historians alike.
The last years of Mussolini are barely covered in the book, which then digresses to random, irrelevant rantings on post war Fascism, and De Felice's monumental rubbish that tries to restore and repair the bruised reputation of Mussolini, as if he ever had one that matteed.
I recommend Denis Mack Smith penetrating and coincise biography on this ass of a man instead.
This book missed by a mile.......2004-04-30
Yet another feeble attempt by a so called authority on the subject to undermine Il Duce.What most of the author misses when he researches this man is he relies heavily on the revisionist version of Italys role in World War 2.What most of these historians fail to realize the grave state of Italy before Fascism came and saved it! The author does the usual run of the mill,low brow,liberal,communist,socialist stabs at Mussolini's life and taking shots at the Italian people as a whole.This is a typical interpretation of a man who tried to stop the flow of the Red tide of the 1920's that was threatening to envelop most of Europe.If you want to really know about Mussolini and Fascist Italy read:Mussolini My Rise and Fall/ Frogmens first battles(about the 10th light Flottila) and Italian Aces of World War 2.I have bought all three of these books from Amazon and they are very accurate with no revisionist slant.These books show the bravery and heroism with which the Italian people fought and died . Too bad more people accept the words of weak willed intellectuals than what the facts really show. AVANTI!!!!! GIOVENZZA!!!!!!
Average customer rating:
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Mussolini: A Dictator Dies (World at War)
G. C. Skipper
Manufacturer: Childrens Pr
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Binding: School & Library Binding
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Book Description
Was Mussolini really the power-crazed cynic that many see him as? Was he a true revolutionary? Both ruthless and opportunistic, Benito Mussolini was driven by ideology and his desire to make Italy great. But conservative forces in the Italian establishment and factional warfare in his own Fascist party were stumbling blocks to his policy, and ultimately Italy never became as fascist as Mussolini would have liked.
Peter Neville presents a new assessment of the life and times of the famous leader. This study places the fascist movement in its historical context and assesses its theoretical base. He examines the formative influence of the young Mussolini, his turn away from socialism by 1914, his regime and foreign policy as a leader, and his historical legacy. Clear and engaging, this survey is key to the understanding of one of the most fascinating of twentieth-century European dictators.
Book Description
This work measures the true impact of Mussolini on his follower, Hitler and its consequences for both fascism and communism in 20th century history. 21 photos. Smith charts the career of the man who altered his choice of violence to a talent of deceit.
Customer Reviews:
mussolini the fraud.......2007-02-04
The life of Mussolini was one that was filled with tragedy for the state of Italy. Mussolini is not lionized by Dennis Mack Smith but instead taken apart for the inadequacies in his rule during the World War 2 era. Mussolini never really had control of the situation in Italy and was most of the time a confused dictator. He believe his strength to be far greater than it was and considered Italy a great power in the world. He was quickly becoming a pawn of Hitler and his indecisiveness led Italy down a path of destruction. There is little to be proud of given the evidence posted in this book and it brings to light a perspective that should be analyzed. The book is very well written and is not bogged down in heavy detail. It highlights the salient points and provides a context for life in Italy under Mussolini. While Mussolini's thugs did terrorize the populace form time to time the country really ran as it did in the pre-fascist days. The security forces were police state at times but nominally Mussolini, especially as the war went on, quickly fell out of favor with the people. He lost his touch with reality and while no one wanted to challenge his perceptions it did not matter as Italy was driven back again and again over the course of the war. This is a must read for those who want to understand how Italy fit into world war 2 beyond simply a military context.
The Definitive Poltical Biography of Mussolini.......2005-01-13
Denis Mack Smith has written the definitive political biography of Bonito Mussolini. This work built upon a foundation of short, clear and concise paragraphs make for an enthralling read on the life of the fascist dictator known to millions as IL DUCE. Born in 1883, of humble beginnings on a small Italian village, Mussolini would possess a complex character throughout his life to become one of the three most infamous totalitarian dictators of the twentieth century. Mussolini changed his political ideology from socialist left to fascist right like an actor changes costume. As a result, he became one of the most loved and, ultimately, the most hated by his people. Although slated as a political narrative of fascism, it is the diverse character Mussolini that shines through in Mack Smith's work. As the author points out, "Italian fascism was more than just Mussolini. But the quirks of character in this one man were a crucial factor in both its successes and failures." Mack Smith organized his book in short thematic chapters and sub-headings with an ample supply of dates to guide his audience along. He begins by painting Mussolini's troubled youth as a knife wielding bully that led to numerous expulsions from local schools. Mussolini's father, a blacksmith and active member of the socialist party who had an affinity for drinking and womanizing, suggests Mack Smith, may have had a significant influence in Mussolini's early development and eventual socialist leanings. His mother, a devout catholic and schoolteacher tried her best to keep young Bonito in school. The cantankerous youth would go on to teach school himself, however, for the most part, he led the life of a young Bohemian sporting an unkempt appearance and writing mediocre poetry. Mack Smith is diligent to delve beneath the propaganda myth commonly associated with Bonito Mussolini. The author's favorite source of exposure are several autobiographies written by Mussolini as well as a host of other manuscripts penned by the dictator. Rather than attempting to psychoanalyze his subject, Mack Smith illustrates the true nature of Mussolini that just seems to make good historical sense. Even the many references to Mussolini's various sexual escapades are not included as a motive for sensationalistic journalism, but rather, to illustrate the dysfunctional complex character that was Mussolini. Unintentionally, or perhaps not, the author raises the question of gender in early twentieth century Italy. Was violence at the point of a knife and wanton sexual exploits inherent to the psychological make-up of the Italian male? Mack Smith does not elude to have the answer but the question arises nonetheless. A number of mistresses would play a prominent role even to the end of his life when "Clara Petacci stood by him to the last and insisted on dying with him." The weaknesses of this book are slight. Some have argued that Mack Smith remains to narrowly focused on his subject and fails to provide an adequate historical context. This is not too glaring a defect. The author prepares us early on that this is a political biography of Bonito Mussolini, not a history of fascist Italy in the 1920s and 30s. The author makes it clear, however, that "...the birth and development of fascism owe far more to this one man than anyone else." At times, Mack Smith is perhaps too concise. For example, the masterfully planned and flawlessly executed mission conducted by Otto Skorzeny, to rescue Mussolini at Badoglio, deserves more than the half paragraph Mack Smith devotes to it. Nevertheless, this book is the best treatment of the first fascist dictator. It serves both as a general introduction, and paves the way for further readings. All in all, the book is a significant addition to totalitarian literature.
The Definitve Work.......2005-01-10
This is still the most comprehensive work on the life of Mussolini to date. The reveiwers who claim it has not been "well researched" must not have read past the third page, to say nothing of the bibliography, one of the most impressive and detailed I have ever seen in any work of non-fiction. In many ways, the history of il Duce tells itself and the horrible reality is not the result of someone's point of view as much as a detailed and faithful telling of the truth.
Hilarious, groundbreaking work on the life of Mussolini .......2004-11-02
This book is still the benchmark on the life of that despicable,culpable idiot and gangster politician, Mussolini. In the book, you will discover the real Mussolini, a lifelong coward, born slacker, hollow pedant, syphylitic philanderer, perfidous demagogue and complete moron.
No biographies after this work comes close to the insights that Mack Smith has on Mussolini and Fascist Italy, twin clowns in the world stage.
Historical, or historically biased?.......2003-03-27
I agree this book is definitely one sided and skewed. Mussolini was not a saint, however this book fails to mention any other aspect of his life, other than that of disturbed Hitler sidekick. The fact remains that Benito Mussolini was a leader in his own right. Many other biographies show his ability to make people have pride, and the 'mighty' Adolph Hitler twitch. look elsewhere for facts.
Average customer rating:
- Not bad for quick look at who Mussoilini was
- Solid introductory biography
- Amazing!
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Benito Mussolini: The First Fascist (Library of World Biography Series) (Library of World Biography)
Anthony L. Cardoza
Manufacturer: Longman
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0321095871 |
Book Description
This new addition to the Longman World Biography series integrates the latest scholarship on the life of Mussolini with the story of Italian Fascism.
Combines the story of Mussolini, the man, with the story of Italian Fascism. Explores the larger legacy of Mussolini outside of Europe and since 1945. Situates Fascism in a global context and exposes students to debates on historical interpretation. Provides students with a comparative framework for understanding European Fascism.
Customer Reviews:
Not bad for quick look at who Mussoilini was.......2007-05-15
the book is what it is advertized as--a weekend read of benito mussoilini. The author does a nice job of giving the reader a big picture view of the times and reasons for mussoilini's rise to power. I recommend the book to anyone who has never read any history of mussoilini--only heard of his death and being hung in the city square. It gives a nice reference point for conversations on WWII from Italy's perspective.
Solid introductory biography.......2005-09-27
Short, solid introductory biography written with craftsman-like prose, which places Mussolini in historical context and is especially good at noting the political and cultural boundaries that limited his "totalitarianism."
Amazing!.......2005-05-03
How can such profound scholarship read like a novel. Best buy I've made in ages, and I buy much.
Book Description
This memoir recounts the Italian dictator's years as an agitator, journalist, and soldier, the formation of the Fascist Party, the "March on Rome," and his early years in power. It articulates Il Duce's vision of his nation's return to glory and includes his definitive statement on the doctrine of Fascism and its political justification. 8 illustrations.
Book Description
Breaking a lifelong silence, the last surviving child of Benito Mussolini opens the floodgates about his father.
In this historical, revisionist memoir, Romano Mussolini (September 26, 1927-February 3, 2006), the last surviving child of dictator Benito Mussolini, contributes his unique perspective to the growing body of work that portrays Il Duce's era. Through Romano's portrait of never before publicly shared memories and feelings, My Father Il Duce brings alive the domestic scenes of his childhood particularly when they intersected with his father's public role. He also relates in detail the memories of his mother, Donna Rachele, who lived until 1979 and often spoke with Romano about his father.
Romano's memories, sorted by chapter, but not presented chronologically, shift between his own recollections of time spent with his father to the years after Mussolini's death in 1945. The prose lingers and then artistically moves forward, melancholy to fierce to vulnerable, like the notes of the jazz music played by Romano during his acclaimed musical career.
Mussolini is presented here as a man who was supremely convinced that he was the master of his life: "'Everything happening around me,'" my father used to say, "'leaves me indifferent. I consciously choose 'Live dangerously' as my life's motto. As an old soldier, I say, 'If I advance, follow me. If I retreat, kill me. If they kill me, vindicate me.'" He saw his existence in scenes of high drama, envisioning in the end, Romano tells us, that he would be placed in front of throngs at New York City's Madison Square Garden and then executed in a macabre spectacle.
In this memoir, Romano does not truly ponder the consequences of his father's alliances and dictatorship, though with at least one notable exception that he gave considerable thought to his personal anger toward Hitler for "stabbing my father in the back at his darkest hour." Instead, he seeks to render concrete the memories that he held silent over a lifetime before they were lost to history.
The fascist order that Mussolini created and imposed upon Italy is one that Italians and students of history the world over are still interpreting. Indeed, his legacy was centerstage in the May 2006 Italian national elections, and one of the deputies in the Italian parliament today who represents his alliances is Alessandra Mussolini, Romano's daughter and defender of her infamous grandfather. As the trend of historical revisionism in Italy continues, in particular regarding the role of fascism, some of this kinder, gentler Mussolini is already widely accepted.
Thus, My Father Il Duce (in Italian Il Duce Mio Padre) was published to great attention and controversy in Italy in 2004 and quickly became a bestseller. Romano often appeared on Italian national television and in newspaper interviews. In part, this illuminates that fascist supporters are alive and well, while also confirms even among non-supporters, the ongoing attraction to the cult of personality Mussolini masterminded.
In Italy, this public discourse about Mussolini is common. However, for others it is important to establish a context for Romano's memoir. This is accomplished here through an accompanying masterful twenty-one page introductory essay by one of the world's foremost authorities on Italian political culture, Alexander Stille:
Writing the introductory essay to
My Father Il Duce is a bit like writing the warning label on a powerful drug that has its uses but must be taken with care and knowledge of its possible side effects.
Romano reached his goal of living to see the first publication of his memoir in Italian. As for this English-language edition, he earlier expressed approval of the front cover design. On January 1, 2006, he received the translated English language manuscript of his writing. During the last month of his life, he approved it. Romano Mussolini died on February 3, 2006, at age seventy-nine in a Rome hospital soon after heart surgery.
Romano's death made international news. The New York Times obituary reported: In the 1950's and 60's he was in the vanguard of Italian jazz with his group the Romano Mussolini All Stars, and he played with American greats like Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington and Chet Baker. Mr. Mussolini gained even greater international fame with his first marriage, to Anna Maria Scicolone, the sister of the actress Sophia Loren....Despite his own scrupulous avoidance of politics, politicians from Italy's right wing-parties widely lauded Mr. Mussolini and his family name in statements they released: "Romano knew how to make us love him for his humanity, his art, but also for the dignity and coherence with which he defended his family from attacks and demonizations."
Through Romano's worldwide celebrity and well-regarded nature, his words in defense of Il Duce, albeit ones he no doubt wrote as a son who loved his father, offer a rare insider's perspective that can help us better understand, and therefore more readily defeat tyranny. This memoir's account of history further reminds us of the continuing need for our vigilance in the pursuit of truth. 18 historical photographs.
Customer Reviews:
My Father: Il Duce reveals the human and family side of a complex historical figure........2006-12-10
Written by Romano Mussolini, the son of infamous Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, My Father: Il Duce: A Memoir of Mussolini's Son contributes to history by shedding new light into aspects of the private life of "Il Duce". A riveting story of a state figure who went to great lengths to keep his private and public lives separate, who openly stated that he chose "Live dangerously" as his life's motto, and of a family that existed in continual danger of assassination, My Father: Il Duce reveals the human and family side of a complex historical figure. Highly recommended.
Il Duce, the Family Man .......2006-11-03
This unique short memoir, a best seller in Italy, is really about a son's blind and unconditional love for his father, even if this father had been a member of the grotesque family of 20th-century fascist monsters who ultimately were responsible for the slaughter of millions. In a penetrating introduction by the Italian political culture authority Alexander Stille, the fond recollections of Mussolini as an attentive and loving father who encouraged his son to pursue music, who always "performed" his family duty toward his wife, and who frequently entertained the kids with fabulous family stories, are put into perspective with citations of the cold historical facts. One has to read this brilliant introduction to really get those facts, as Romano Mussolini fails to deliver any of them. In fact, his recollections are about a more or less normal family life, if that can be said, and about the unfair treatment his father suffered at the hands of an ungrateful public who forgot all he did for them. The allies also aren't presented with any love or affection. There are anecdotes here that are worth reading as well, but in the end, one wonders how Romano could have steered clear of all the blood and gore, cruelty and absurd bravado that his father brought into the world. To me, this is more of a psychological study of one man's delusions and prejudices than a historical document. Nonetheless, it's provocative and well worth the quick read.
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